President Obama reportedly offered Israel advanced military weaponry if the U.S. ally doesn't bomb Iran until after November's elections. Presidential press secretary Jay Carney denied any such pact was proposed in meetings the president held last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But he didn't comment on what was discussed in meetings of both nations' military and government officials.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported March 8 that the United States offered to provide bunker-busting bombs and refueling planes if Israel agreed not to attack Iranian nuclear sites before 2013. The newspaper cited unnamed Western diplomatic and intelligence sources.

Obama is faced with an apparent nuclear-arming Iran that could pose a deadly threat to America's closest Middle East ally. The president alternately has talked tough and conciliatory regarding Iran while trying to reassure Israel.

The situation's delicacy demands prudence. Among other consequences, an Israeli strike against Iran could precipitate a war in which the United States would be involved.

The report of a pledge of advanced weaponry on condition it not be used prior to U.S. elections is troubling for different reasons. If true, it raises two disturbing possibilities.

The first is that the president may have allowed his domestic political priorities to dictate foreign policy in a potential crisis. Did he expect Israel not to use weapons it may deem necessary to avert its own destruction, based on his campaign schedule?

The second possibility may reveal the president's naivete. Did he truly believe such an ultimatum would be warmly received — and not quickly leaked to the media?

Both possibilities indicate poor judgment, which is not reassuring during a crisis, in an election year or any other time.

REPRINTED FROM THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA DAILY NEWS

DIST. BY CREATORS.COM